A new type of nanocomposite material for optical applications: organic nanocrystals in sol-gel glasses

摘要

We present a new type of composite materials that we have designed for optical applications: sol-gel glasses highly doped with organic nanocrystals. The nanosized control of crystallization allows us to obtain optical grade samples with very high concentrations of active molecules. Here, we report on the optical limiting properties of bulk glasses doped with stilbene 3 nanocrystals, and on the second-harmonic generation of thin films doped with oriented nonlinear nanocrystals.